Lieutenant
David Whipp, in Army uniform, became the most
decorated C&GS officer of WWII.

On
May 10 ,1992, Captain David Mullendore Whipp passed away. Captain
Whipp was equally at home as an officer conducting his duties
within the Coast and Geodetic Survey or among the first rank
of that elite group of men who were the artillery surveyors
of WWII. During the war, he earned the Silver Star Medal for
gallantry in action, the Legion of Merit Medal for his contributions
as an artillery surveyor, the Croix de Guerre for action with
the Free French, and received other commendations. His unit,
the First Field Artillery Observation Battalion, pioneered artillery
survey methods and counter-battery sound and flash ranging techniques
that were the foundation of artillery counter-battery firing
operations. The celebrated Time on Target method of coordinating
artillery fire of an entire Corps was made possible through
the survey work of the field artillery observation battalions.

Captain
Whipp began his career with the Coast and Geodetic Survey on
May 15, 1939. He served on east coast ships from Maine to the
British West Indies as a junior officer. He was detailed to
the United States Army for four years during the Second World
War. Following the war, he served on geodetic field parties,
as electronics officer on various West Coast ships, the Assistant
Chief of the Division of Geophysics during which time he administered
Coast and Geodetic Survey participation in the International
Geophysical Year, executive officer on numerous ships, liaison
officer at Fort Sill, Director of the Honolulu Field Office,
and, concurrently, Director of the International Tsunami Information
Center. Captain Whipp retired at Honolulu in January 1968.

Because
of Captain Whipp's stature as the most decorated of Coast and
Geodetic Survey officers, it is appropriate that his role in
the defense of our nation be commemorated. The following letters
were written by David Whipp to his wife during the course of
his duties in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany. He was
unique in that his war experiences ranged from the North African
landings through the final mopping up of German resistance on
the Gironde estuary. He was one of the few United States soldiers
to take part in most major theaters and operations throughout
the war and as such his observations and views are of interest
to not only members of the Coast and Geodetic Survey and its
descendant organizations but to all those interested in United
States history and in particular its role in the Second World
War.